Simi Valley mayor sends letter to Obama on military cuts

At the request of a Simi Valley military contractor, Mayor Bob Huber has sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking that he work with Congress to avoid automatic federal military spending cuts that are part of the sequestration.

“The aerospace and defense industry ... is an important element of our local economy,” states the letter, authorized by the City Council on Monday. “There are more than 130 defense contractors in Simi Valley,” including Meggitt PLC, which asked Huber to send the letter.

From 2000-11, those companies received nearly 6,500 military contracts valued at about $500 million, the letter says.

“Therefore, the city of Simi Valley respectfully requests that your office work with the United States Congress to identify a bipartisan solution to the nation’s budgetary issues and end the sequester as soon as possible in the interest of our economy and hardworking Americans,” the letter states.